I’m finding there aren’t a lot of impressive graphics for companies who craft cutlery. I’ve collected a few, but one that immediately stands out to me is Chicago Cutlery. The thick-thin dynamic is clearly evoking a honed edge, and the typography has an old-soul kitchen-esque flavor to it. Of course the sharp black on brushed steel takes the brand further, setting the identity on the medium of its craft.

Sabatier, Messermeister, Tamahagane, Wüsthof, Shun, and Mac…these are arguably the strongest steel kitchen cutlery brands in the world, and although their branding is diverse and rooted in craftsmanship (that is to say, the company name and branding revolve around original craftspeople, not necessarily communicating the craft), there is little visual stimuli occurring in their visual identities.

Füri and Global have something interesting going on. As well as Benchmade, these brands have exerted a bold impression on their cutlery and other materials. Knives to me are important tools we use everyday and their use signals a specific time and excitement that we all experience: cooking food and eating it. These brands are bringing an enthusiasm to their cutlery, where I find other industry standards are to find a refinement, a fine art to their tools. That may very well be true, but branding is about fabricating a countenance that others perceive, and not necessarily how you perceive yourself.

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That’s all for now. This is just a bunch of imagery I’ve dug up in the past few weeks that I’m hoping will offer insight and inspiration into designing a brand for a cutlery company. I’m not entirely sure what Clyve has that other companies do not, but for right now I’m just doing a lot of vegetable chopping and hoping that starts to sizzle something.

Updates on me and shameless plug: There has been a lot of back-end work going on for me lately, as it always seems, and unfortunately Monthly Brand can sometimes get filed to the bottom of the to-do list. Unfortunately these things happen, but during the first part of this month I’ve been able to assemble a lot of my previous work into a decent collection, as well as updating my personal and professional work. So if you’re interested in the other work I do, you can take a gander at those endeavors on my website here or at the behance network here.

Current Client: Fuse

Fuse is the name of an infused vodka project where exotic ingredients are combined and patiently brewed and are enjoyed at a later date. These vodkas are a homemade pet hobby of my own, but here on the blog I'm set out to give the product a graphic character to help bring it to life. Fuse has a lot going for it in taste, but in terms of identity, these five words were built to help guide the way: